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Multiple applicants can be listed in one general protections claim and employers may be entitled to request further particulars before participating in the FWC conference
The Fair Work Commission (the Commission) recently found that multiple applicants can be listed in one general protections dispute application. Further, an employer can request more and better particulars from the employee regarding their claim before participating in the conference before the Commission. Background The CFMEU lodged one general protections claim on behalf of approximately 100 members, alleging they were dismissed because they had a workplace right under the relevant enterprise agreement and the National Employment Standards. The employees were named in the application. The employer, Anglo Coal (Dawson Services) Pty Ltd challenged the dispute application on the grounds that: the employer had no record of one of the persons named in the application; four of the employees named in the application are still employed by the employer; 21 employees were terminated on the basis of voluntary re...
21 July 2014The rules don’t apply to me if I think I'm being bullied!
Background The applicant was engaged by CITIC Pacific Mining Management Pty Ltd (CITIC) as an IT application developer. In February 2014, the applicant made an application to the Fair Work Commission (the Commission) for an order to stop bullying against CITIC. The applicant alleged: his manager changed the weightings (ratings) in his performance appraisal which resulted in him receiving an annual bonus less than what he expected; and his manager erroneously allocated tasks to him irrespective of whether they were within his skills or position description. The applicant had accessed his manager's emails without authorisation, and read an email between his manager and another senior employee regarding CITIC's concerns with the applicant's performance. This was the basis upon which the applicant formed the view that his manager changed the weightings in his performance appraisal. Before making lodging the application with th...
20 June 2014Failure to comply with signatory detail proves costly in enterprise agreement approval
The Fair Work Commission (the Commission) recently refused to approve an enterprise agreement as the signatory requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) had not been met. Background Sky Channel Pty Ltd made an application to the Commission for approval of the Sky Channel Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). Two unions involved in the negotiations made statutory declarations in relation to the Agreement but raised concerns regarding the terms of the Agreement and the process involved in making the Agreement. In the statutory declarations, the unions alleged that the Agreement: offended the terms of the National Employment Standards; did not meet the better off overall test; and was not genuinely agreed to by the employees. Finding The Commission determined that when an application for approval of an enterprise agreement is made, it must be accompanied by a signed copy of the enterprise agreement in accordance with the regulati...
19 June 2014